Update 4/16/20 – Boeing Announces Staggered Return; Your Safety is Our Priority
Your union leadership was notified today (April 16) that Boeing is planning staggered return to work operations in Puget Sound next week.
Boeing’s message to employees read:
“737 will resume working toward restarting MAX production, and 747/767, 777, Fabrication and support teams will restart production operations as follows:
• Executives and senior managers on April 17
• First-line managers on April 20
• Third-shift employees on April 20, and first-and second-shift employees on April 21
The 787 team will restart operations as follows:
• Executives and senior managers on April 22
• First-line managers on April 23
• Third-shift employees on April 23, and first- and second-shift employees on April 24.
Employees who are returning to work will receive additional information from their managers regarding the return process.”
Your Safety is Our Top Priority: Our top priority remains the safety of our members and your families. You have a right to a safe work environment and should be provided with all the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
We are asking every member to take responsibility to ensure you are safe as you return to work. While many changes in the work environment may be inconvenient or make your job more cumbersome, know that it is to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, while also protecting you and your co-workers in the factory. Please take the use of PPE very seriously and continue using increased handwashing to slow the spread of COVID-19.
We are also providing a link to the Department of Labor & Industries Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Directive on essential businesses operating under the Governor’s Stay Home – Stay Healthy Order. https://www.iam751.org/docs/2020/DD170.pdf. As we said in earlier updates, Boeing and other essential businesses must comply with specific requirements in this directive.
Article 16.1 Imminent Danger Stop Work clause of our contract will continue to be the best way to identify and react immediately to hazardous working conditions during this time utilizing the Stop Work authority formulated in the CBA. This allows for members to identify hazards and work to resolve them quickly. Here is how it works:
- Identify the hazard (contact your Steward and IAM Site Safety Committee for assistance)
- Notify your manager that work will cease, and you are invoking the Imminent Danger clause in Article 16
- The EHS focal will be contacted to evaluate the hazard
- Work to resolve the issue before work commences
What to do if you are unable to return to the workplace
We have heard from many members who, for a variety of reasons, may not be able to return to work during this COVID-19 pandemic. Members who are high risk, or who need to care for children that are out of school, have an ill family member or are “concerned with working on site due to Coronavirus,” can be absent from work and use vacation, sick leave or excused LWOP, without having to exhaust benefits or face discipline. You will need to notify management that you must be off work due to COVID-19 reasons. Be sure that you discuss this with your manager and follow your organization’s requirements for reporting daily absences.
• For members taking excused LWOP due to COVID-19, some MAY be able to collect unemployment insurance benefits under new emergency rules and CARES Act provisions. Use page 2 of the ESD eligibility checklist as a guideline. ESD is also building many of the new rules around UI into their system over the coming week, so more guidance should be available soon. They do recommend signing up for their COVID Alert email updates, which are also on the linked document.
• Members always have the option to use benefits to cover time away from work; however, if they are filing for UI they must declare this as pay, which could reduce their weekly UI benefit.
Feel free to share this information with other members who may not have signed up to receive our emails. Together, we will get through these difficult times.
751 Member Communications
